Reminder
by OldMondlerLover
Summary: A Season 9, Tulsa-era Mondler I've had on my mind quite a while now. Not really a "missing scene," more like a "lost weekend" maybe? ;) Hope you enjoy it!
1. The Queen's Plates

"You are such a little bunny," Monica cooed to her niece as she held her in her arms. "Did you enjoy your first Thanksgiving? Did you?"

The infant looked up at her aunt and smiled, a new trick she'd perfected in the last month or so. It made Monica's heart melt to see that smile and she couldn't help but smile back.

It was Friday night and she was sitting on the sofa in Ross and Rachel's apartment, holding her niece and waiting for Ross to come home.

After the surprise visit at Thanksgiving, Amy had stayed with Rachel for a week and Rachel had finally had enough. She had accompanied her sister to Long Island for the night in an attempt to patch things up between her and their father.

Ross had asked Monica if she wanted to have dinner with him and Emma at his apartment and Monica had quickly agreed. She had worked every evening in the past week, including doubles on Wednesday and Thursday and didn't have to be back at JaVu until the dinner shift on Sunday.

It was going to be the perfect weekend - until she learned her husband wasn't coming home. The year-end paperwork was piling up, he'd said, and he needed to keep his employees on top of it.

Monica sighed. She wasn't at all sure that was the full story.

She wasn't at all sure that he wasn't just avoiding her altogether.

After the "Incident with the Queen's Plates," as he'd dubbed it, she'd really let him have it.

She was livid that he'd broken them - so mad that she didn't even notice when Phoebe and Joey shot him sympathetic glances and left the apartment as she laid into him.

Monica winced at the memory. Despite her legendary Geller temper, she really hadn't meant to come down on him so hard, especially since he'd already been through a lot with their friends that day.

All he kept saying was "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He'd looked like a frightened little boy as she yelled at him, then she had stomped off and slammed the door to their bedroom.

She'd heard him pick up the box of broken plates, his keys, and leave the apartment.

He had been gone for two hours, and when he finally came home he was carrying a small soup bowl and a saucer that somehow had survived in the wreckage.

She was sitting at the kitchen table when he'd entered their apartment. He didn't say a word as he set the two pieces on the table.

_"Where'd you go?" she said quietly, finally breaking the silence._

_He looked at her warily before he answered._

_"I…um, I went out to the dumpster to see what could be salvaged," he replied._

_"You were out there the whole time?"_

_"Yes."_

_She really looked at him then and noticed that his cheeks were flush, his ears were red and his lips were a little blue._

_"Chandler, it's freezing out there!" she said as she got up to put some water in the tea kettle on the stove._

_He didn't say anything as he hung up his coat and crossed his arms over his chest. _

_After putting the burner on under the water she walked over to him, expecting him to wrap his arms around her. _

_He stood still, looking down, his arms still crossed._

_She rubbed his upper arms to try to warm him a bit._

_He cleared his throat._

_"These two are all that are left," he said, glancing at the dishes on the table. "I…I thought…maybe…we could start collecting some here and there…look on eBay maybe…I don't know."_

_He wasn't moving and he wasn't making eye contact with her. He felt cold - literally and figuratively - and distant._

_She dropped her hands from his arms and turned, glancing at the bowl and saucer._

_"It's worth a shot, I guess," she sighed._

_"Yeah, maybe," he shrugged as the tea kettle started to whistle._

_Monica moved to get it._

_"I'm going to take a shower."_

_"But, the tea…" Monica started to protest._

_"I don't want tea, I want a shower," he'd said, with an edge to his voice she wasn't used to. "Is that OK with you?"_

_She felt herself grow angry, then suddenly realized that's exactly what he was expecting - another fight. Another lecture. Another diatribe about how he couldn't do anything right._

_And she stopped herself._

_"Of course."_

_He finally made eye contact with her, a look of mild surprise on his face._

_"Thank you."_

_He went into the bathroom and she made herself a cup of tea and sat down again at the kitchen table. She picked up the saucer and examined it as best she could through the tears in her eyes._

"Hey, Mon," Ross said coming through the front door.

She briefly shook her head, then stood up with Emma and walked her over to her father.

"Hey," she said, handing a smiling Emma to him.

"Thanks so much for staying with her," Ross said. "Wouldn't do us any good to have only one diaper until morning."

"Oh, it was fine," Monica said, gently shaking her little foot and saying to her, "We had a good time, didn't we little bunny?"

Ross looked at his sister and his heart broke a little, knowing how much she wanted a "little bunny" for herself and Chandler. Her smile at Emma was a little sad.

"You OK?"

She looked at him just as a no-longer-smiling Emma let out a long wail.

"I'm fine," she said. "Looks like someone is tired."

"Yeah, I better get her a bottle. Do you want to stay?"

Monica hesitated just a minute, but decided against it.

"No," she said. "Chandler should be off work now and he'll be calling soon. I should head back. Thanks again for dinner."

"Anytime," he said, as Emma's cries grew louder. "OK…gotta run."

Monica quickly kissed hem both on the cheek and made her way out to door and back to her lonely, dark apartment.

###

Monica walked in the door to Apartment 20 and flipped on the light.

She looked out the big window. She waved at Ross, who was feeding Emma her bottle on the sofa. He nodded back, seeing that she was safely home.

She took out her cell phone and then glanced at the answering machine.

Nothing.

It was about 7 p.m. in Tulsa, but she knew he'd been working late a lot.

She told herself he just wasn't off work yet and that's why he hadn't called.

She hadn't seen him since late Sunday afternoon, when he left for the airport. And even though they talked once or twice a day by phone during the week, the conversations had been brief.

The weekend after Thanksgiving had been spent with their friends and family. The tension between them had remained thick Thanksgiving night and was still in the air Friday morning, despite Monica's hope that a new day would alleviate it. Despite the fact that they still had woken up in each other's arms.

They'd gone out to the Gellers on Long Island Friday and then shopping and out with the gang on Saturday.

Chandler had taken the good natured ribbing about the plates from their friends pretty well, and peering in from the outside it looked as if everything was OK in Monica and Chandler's world.

But it wasn't.

Monica walked into their bedroom and opened his side of the closet, trying to decide which of his shirts she'd sleep in that night. She breathed in deeply, letting his scent fill her senses.

She missed him so much it hurt.

And she didn't just miss him being there with her physically, in their bed, though that part was damn near unbearable.

She missed _him_.

She missed the every-day with the man who had been her best friend for so many years she'd lost count.

She missed the connection she only had with him. She missed seeing him look at her across the room - each knowing what the other was thinking. She missed his jokes, God help her. She missed him drinking coffee with her on the orange sofa at Central Perk. She missed him heading off to work with a smile and a "have a good day."

She missed, with an unbelievable ache, the "hi honey, I'm home" when he would walk in the door when work was over.

She missed being a part of his whole life. She felt like she was missing such a huge chunk of it every time he was in Oklahoma.

She missed Chandler.

_RING…_

She practically jumped over the bed as she reached across to grab the phone on the first ring.

"Hello," she said, hopefully.

"Hey," he said. He sounded tired.

"Hey," she said, laying on her side on their bed, pulling his pillow to her. "Long day?"

"Yeah," he said, stifling a yawn "And it's not over yet."

"Whatta mean?"

"I just came home to change," he said. "I ordered pizzas for everyone. We're working late."

God, she hated it when he called his hotel room "home." He didn't mean it, it was just a slip-of-the-tongue, but it still hurt.

"But it's Friday night…" she said, sitting up.

"It's almost December," he said. "New York doesn't care what day it is."

And there it was - the "us versus them" dynamic that was playing out in his office. He was caught in the middle of it, but more and more he seemed to be seeing things from a Tulsa point of view.

And if she heard him say "ya'll" one more time she knew she might scream. He'd used it way too much on Thanksgiving Day, watching the band from the Oklahoma high school in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade…

"Mon?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm here," she said.

"So… did you work today?" he asked.

"No. No…I have the weekend off, until Sunday anyway," she answered, playing with the corner of the pillow.

"Oh…" he said, quietly. "I'd forgotten that."

They were both silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry, Monica," he finally said, the warmth she'd been missing since the "Incident with the Queen's Plates" finally coming back into his voice. Her eyes filled with tears.

"I…you don't have anything to be sorry for," she said, her voice thick even though relief flowed through her body. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about last week, I'm sorry that you have to work late, I'm…"

"It's OK," he interrupted her, and she could picture his face as he said it. His eyes were closed, she was certain, and his hand was running over his tie.

She could picture him, but that's all she could do.

"No, it's not," she said, quietly.

"Mon," he said, he voice perking up a little bit, "I knew what I was in for when I married you."

Despite herself, she smiled.

"How you put up with me…"

She could almost hear his lopsided grin come across his face in Tulsa.

"I think that goes both ways, Darlin'."

"Darlin'?" she said, with a laugh.

"Just a Tulsa-ism," he said. She could tell he was smiling and a lump formed in her throat.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too," he said, then sighed heavily.

"I…I suppose I better let you get back to work," she said sadly.

"Yeah," he replied. "I guess…I guess the more we can get done this weekend the better chance I have to come home a time or two before Christmas."

"What?!" she said, startled. Christmas was almost a month away.

He sighed again.

"I'm doing the best I can, honey," he said.

"But…" she started, a million questions swimming around in her mind. She almost said 'but, what about when I'm ovulating?' but decided against it.

They'd just moved past the pain of last weekend. She didn't want to lay more guilt on him now.

She sighed.

"I know," she said. "I know you are, Chandler. I just…I miss you."

"I miss you, too," he said.

She closed her eyes.

"I love you," she heard him say.

"I love you, too," she said.

"I'll call in the morning."

"OK," she said, not sure how much longer she would be able to keep it together.

"Bye, babe," he said.

"Bye."

Then she heard a click as he hung up and her connection to Tulsa went away.

She put the phone back in its cradle, crawled back to her side of the bed and hugged his pillow tight for a few moments.

Then she slowly got up and plucked one of his light blue, long sleeved shirts from the closet.

Monica undressed and pulled the shirt over her head, trying to keep the tears at bay.

She made her way to the bathroom, mentally preparing herself for another restless, sleepless night without Chandler.

_**NOTE: OK, OK, don't get too excited ;) This is just a little Tulsa-era story that came to me recently. It'll be 4-5 chapters long, something like that, and not nearly the angst-ridden drama of "Slow Me Down." But it is gonna be a little different. And, I'm sorry, but real life is going to make updating slower this time. Didn't think I'd post something again so quickly, but oh well, I'm addicted to Mondler (and reviews, btw). What can I say? Enjoy!**_


	2. Livin' on Tulsa Time

Chandler sat on the bar stool at Slim Pickin's and mindlessly watched the sports scores crawl across the bottom of the TV sets overhead.

Slim Pickin's ended up being a pretty good go-to place for him, especially on Saturdays when he was moored over a thousand miles away from New York. Though on this college football Saturday it was extra crowded - the Sooners were on TV.

The name of the restaurant ended up being a play on words. It was the one place he found where the menu had relatively healthy options on one side and was chock full of BBQ, burgers and wings on the other.

Today he'd chosen the latter side of the menu. Wings, a burger and beer. He need comfort food.

He'd been so relieved last night after talking to Monica. He hated when there was unresolved tension between them.

And this time it had lasted longer than he could ever remember.

The stress of his months in this stupid job in Tulsa had been slowly taking a toll on both of them, even if neither of them were willing to admit how much.

Then there was Thanksgiving, which he still hated - and Rachel's pain-in-the-ass sister to deal with, along with all the Emma-custody drama. Truth be told he was still smarting from that, even though in the end Ross and Rachel thought it'd be OK if he alone was fourth in line to raise his niece.

Breaking the dishes was a tipping point. It was an accident that put a capper on a crappy day, and he knew if Monica found out she would go through the roof.

And she did.

But instead of finding a way to try to calm her down and make everything OK again, he got mad. He was tired of feeling guilty, tired of feeling like he was incompetent.

Just plain tired of it all.

So he'd walked out.

And for a brief moment that night he thought he'd throw the box in the dumpster and keep on walking.

The fact that he even had that thought made him shutter now, just as it had on Thanksgiving.

He was angrier than he'd ever been, but there was no way he was going to leave Monica. He still couldn't believe he'd ever contemplated it before, on their wedding day of all days.

He'd sworn to himself then that no matter what happened, no matter how crazy she made him, he would always remember how fiercely she loved him - like no one in his life ever had.

Chandler sighed, knowing full well that he made her crazy too, but the crazy balanced itself out. She was his best, best friend - the undisputed love of his life.

The one person in the world who, despite everything, understood him the most and loved him anyway.

And that had always been enough. They hardly ever fought. They talked, they worked stuff out. Honestly, though, it was becoming harder and harder to do that.

All because he fell asleep in a meeting.

Well, not only because he fell asleep in a meeting.

The distance was becoming a big strain, and he knew it was going to be much worse until the new year rolled around, but he also knew it wasn't the only thing causing the tension between them to erupt so frequently.

He couldn't make her pregnant.

They'd been trying and trying for months and nothing.

She'd been stoic about it, but he knew every month she was overcome with disappointment.

The worst part was there was nothing he could do about it, and half the time when she realized she wasn't pregnant - again - he was half-way across the country.

Chandler knew giving her a baby wouldn't solve everything, but God, it would make things easier.

It would make him feel less guilty, less incompetent.

Less like he was letting her down in every phase of life at the moment.

And he'd promised to make her happy.

"Bang up job you're doing of that, Bing," he mumbled to himself.

Chandler's eyes were fixed on the TV, but glazed over in thought as the bubbly, blond, barely-out-of-college bartender named AnnieMay approached him.

"Want another?" she asked with a smile as he downed the last of his beer.

"Sure," he said, settling in.

"Comin' right up, honey," she said as she winked at him.

He gave her a downward smile in return, lowering his eyes and glancing at his watch. He took a deep breath, half-heartedly returning his eyes to the football game above. It was just now 4:30 p.m. and the only thing standing between him and another long, lonely night in the middle of nowhere was that one more beer.

He'd sent his staff home at 3, which he usually did on the Saturdays they had to work. But everyone was due back at Noon Sunday for another 6-hour shift of shuffling papers around and trying to make the numbers work.

It was going to be a long weekend - made longer by the fact that when he'd tried to call Monica this morning she wasn't home, and her cell was turned off.

He wondered if she'd picked up a shift at JaVu since he wasn't going to be home.

And that thought made him sad.

God, he missed her.

He folded his hands and tucked them under his chin, leaning his elbows on the bar, as a server came to clear his plates away.

Then the bartender walked back to him with what looked like a very dark, and very flat, amber ale in a beer mug.

"Ah…is this the same beverage?" he asked her, a little confused.

She let out a giggle.

"No…it's not even beer," she drawled in an Oklahoma twang. "It's compliments of the lady at the end of the bar."

She nodded in the direction the lady was sitting and Chandler's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't be accepting drinks from women.

"Wait," AnnieMay said, confused. "She was right there…"

"Listen, tell her thanks but I'm married I can't accept it," Chandler interrupted hurriedly.

"Yes, you can," said a female voice.

Chandler whipped around in his bar stool and came face-to-face with his wife, who was holding an empty bottle of YooHoo.

And they both smiled bigger than they had in days.

###

"Hello, Darlin'," she said with a grin.

"Monica!"

Chandler jumped off the stool and grabbed her around the waist, oblivious to the stares around them - and boos from a few complaining that they were blocking the game.

"Wha…what are you doing here?!"

"Looking for a handsome, blue-eyed man at the bar," she teased, as she handed the empty bottle to the smiling bartender and ran her hands up his arms, clasping them at the nape of his neck.

"Humm," he hummed, kissing her quickly on the lips. "Did ya find him?"

"Still looking…" she smiled and he playfully slapped her butt through her winter coat.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"You're blocking the game, son," said an older farmer who had occupied the bar stool next to him most of the afternoon. Chandler quickly glanced at the annoyed table behind them.

"Ah…"

"Sit right here, little lady," the farmer said, tipping his very worn baseball cap to Monica. "Mine's gonna 'spect me home 'fore too long."

"Thank you," she said, as she took off her coat and placed it over the seat of the stool. Monica couldn't get over how nice everyone was - she was sure each person she'd talked to since she landed in Oklahoma a few hours ago was smiling.

Chandler sat back down on his bar stool.

"What can I get ya, honey?" the bartender asked.

"Are you hungry?" Chandler said, not taking his eyes off her. He just couldn't believe she was really with him at Slim Pickin's!

"Yeah," she said, halfheartedly looking at the menu the bartender had handed her. Chandler flipped it over.

"See," he said. "'Slim' Pickin's.' Unless you want a burger and fries.."

"Ah," she said, appreciatively. "I'll take the grilled chicken salad with house dressing."

"Sure thing," AnnieMay said. She took the menu and walked away.

Monica smiled at the bartender then turned to smile widely at her husband, who had a look of pure joy on his face.

She'd spotted him across the bar almost as soon as she walked in, but the look on his face then had made her stop in her tracks. He was staring at the TVs, but she knew he wasn't watching anything. He was done eating and once in a while he'd take a sip of his beer, but he kept running his fingers through his hair and sighing - then clasping and unclasping his hands under his chin.

And he didn't smile or laugh, not once, and it had broken her heart.

She knew he was as aggravated as she was with the current job situation, but until that moment it had never hit her how utterly alone he was in Oklahoma.

She didn't have him in New York, but she had everyone else.

He had no one.

And Monica always hated to think of him alone. He'd been alone so much in his life and it pained her to think how lonely he must feel every time he was here - no matter how friendly the people seemed to be.

She'd brought a pack of YooHoos from the airport as a little gift and decided it would be a fun way to announce her presence.

It ended up being a sure-fire way to make him smile.

Her co-conspirator AnnieMay winked at her as she came back quickly and set down the salad in front of her.

"I…I can't believe you're here," he breathed, as he searched her face. "You are here, right? I haven't had that much to drink…"

"Yes, I am," she giggled, leaning up to give him another kiss.

He smiled, feeling practically giddy with happiness to have her sitting next to him..

"Why?" he asked, as a thought suddenly struck him. He lowered his voice. "Are you…are you ovulating?"

Monica's face fell as she looked at him.

He was looking at her innocently, genuinely wondering if that was the reason she'd come…and it made her feel horrible.

Had she really been treating him like a sperm donor? So much so that this was his first thought?

She cringed a little then cleared her throat.

"No," she said, attempting a small smile again as she picked up her fork.

"I was…I was just tired of missing you," she said quietly, shrugging and looking back at her salad, trying to fight the tears that were threatening. "I guess I thought if you couldn't come home I'd come here…"

He took her hand in his as she looked at him again. He could see the tears in her eyes. She set down her fork and faced him, both hands now firmly clasped in his own.

"I'm glad you came, no matter what the reason," he said, smiling softly at her. "I'm just kinda shocked. Happy…very happy, though…Mon…I didn't mean…ahh..."

"I know," she interrupted, stroking his cheek.

He ducked his head a little in that shy-boy way that melted her heart. Then his eyes looked up as he grinned.

"Better eat that salad before it gets cold," he said with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes at his lame joke, but couldn't stifle the giggle that came from the tickle that started from deep within her as she sat next to her husband.

And so she laughed - the first real laugh she'd had in what felt like forever.

_**NOTE: Yeah, so, the title of this chapter has nothing to do with the very old country song "Livin' on Tulsa Time," I just thought it made sense since we've moved the action to the American west. :) Might update a little faster…got on a roll, again…**_


	3. Heaven's Doors

The Sooners lost and the Slim Pickin's patrons had turned-over from disgruntled sports fans to the dinner regulars, none of whom paid particular attention to the couple from New York at the bar.

Not that anyone could have broken into their world anyway.

Chandler alternated between making her laugh, kissing her temple and caressing her arm while she finished her salad - trying to be in contact with her in any way he could.

Monica felt herself shiver each time she felt his touch and slowly but surely relax in a way she only could with him.

Their eyes made meaningful contact so many times she was sure she'd seen all she would see of Oklahoma on this visit.

They'd be in his hotel room the rest of the night, she was certain. And that was perfectly fine by her.

She smiled and leaned into him, placing her hand on his leg as AnnieMay cleared her plate away.

"So…" she whispered in her most seductive voice, looking into his eyes. "Whatever are we gonna do on a Saturday night in Tulsa?"

His breath caught and he couldn't help himself. Putting one hand on hers and burying the other under her hair he pulled her to him.

He kissed her hard and deep as she grabbed hold of his tie and pulled him to her. God, she'd missed his kiss. When he kissed her like this she could have easily been back in New York, in Tulsa or on the moon - she wouldn't have known the difference.

AnnieMay watched the couple with a bemused look on her face then cleared her throat - three times.

Reluctantly Chandler pulled away, vaguely aware that taking his wife in Slim Pickin's would scandalize the local populace.

"Alrighty, you two," the bartender said, trying not to giggle. "It's time for ya'll to go now."

Monica blushed as Chandler grinned and threw down enough cash to cover the tab and then some.

AnnieMay smiled, looking at Monica.

"I'm glad you're here, honey," she as she gestured to Chandler. "It ain't right for this one here to ever be lonely."

Then she winked at him, again, and sashayed over to the cash register as Monica stared at her, mouth agape.

And Chandler blushed.

"She's perky," Monica said, shooting the bartender a narrow look while picking up her coat from the bar stool.

"She's 12," Chandler said, rolling his eyes as they made their way out of the restaurant.

He stopped abruptly once they were outside and looked at her curiously.

"What?"

"How the hell did you get here?"

She laughed. "Ah…airplane."

He smirked at her.

"Ya don't say? I mean 'here,'" he said, gesturing down to the sidewalk in front of them.

"Oh," she said. "Well, I took a cab from the airport to your hotel and Billie at the front desk told me you'd probably be at Slim Pickin's. I see why it's a favorite haunt of yours…"

"Mon…"

She waved her hand to shush him.

"Anyway, I was going to ask Billie to call another cab when she said she'd drop me off on her way home."

"Really?" Chandler said, raising his eyebrows. "So you just left in a car with a stranger?"

"She's like 60 and a grandmother - very threatening," Monica said, crossing her arms and challenging him to disagree with her decision.

The gleam in his eye told her he was enjoying their banter as much as she was - and he'd missed it as much as she had.

"Continue."

"People here are so nice," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "She even waited until I came back to the car to tell her you were inside before she left!"

He nodded then thought a minute before responding.

"And the YooHoo?" he asked. "Thank you, by the way."

She smiled.

"Stuck a bottle in my coat pocket before she had my suitcase taken to your room," she said. "I bought it at the airport."

"Resourceful," he said with his lopsided grin, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I know!" she said in perfect Monica fashion, then smoothing out the lapel of his suit jacket and leaning into him she teased, "I can track you down, Bing, don't you and your little blond bartender forget that."

"Humm," he murmured, twirling one finger around a lock of her hair. "I'm a brunette man, or haven't you noticed?"

She smiled as he winked at her and moved to open the passenger door of his company-owned, black Ford Focus.

She slid in the passenger side. Chandler mulled over an idea he'd been thinking about in the restaurant as he walked over to the driver's side.

He looked up. It was a slightly breezy and awfully chilly late-autumn evening in Tulsa, but the sky was practically clear.

Yep, he thought, they'd have just enough time.

"OK," he said as he put the key in the ignition. "Are you ready to be whisked away?"

She snorted, completely sure they were headed back to the hotel.

"Whisked away?"

"My trusty steed," he said, patting the dashboard. "You haven't been whisked away until you've been whisked away _in_ a Ford Focus."

She laughed again.

"Then take me away."

He grinned and grasped her left hand in his right. They looked at each other briefly before he turned the car onto the two-lane road and headed west.

###

"Where are we going?" she asked, knowing that they should have been back at the hotel by now. They'd been driving almost 45 minutes.

"If I told you, would you _really_ have _any_ idea?" he asked.

She glanced at him. "Well…no."

"You'll just have to trust me then," he said with a little grin.

She fell back into her seat and let out a deep, cleansing breath, feeling herself relax.

"Always…" she sighed.

Tulsa seemed to have disappeared from view long ago and before her was an expanse of the western plains. A whole lot of nothing, with rock formations in the distance.

It was calm, peaceful.

And there were no friends to deal with, no work to tend to and no lingering issues looming to talk through.

Just her, Chandler and the open road.

And it felt wonderful.

Flying out here on the spur of the moment - because she'd barely slept a wink Friday night, she'd missed him so much - had turned out to be the best decision she'd made in quite a while.

Monica closed her eyes as Chandler looked over at her.

He smiled to himself.

The Eagles' "Peaceful Easy Feeling" was playing on the only station they could find a signal for way out in the middle of Oklahoma and the old song seemed to fit the mood perfectly.

This was the most peaceful and easy feeling he'd had in so long he couldn't remember.

He looked back at the road and saw exactly where he wanted to stop. He started to slow down.

Monica's eyes were at half-mast as she opened them when he pulled off.

A sense of exhilaration and freedom she hadn't felt in a long time came over her. It almost felt like they were sneaking around again, like when they were first together - as if they were the only two people in the world.

At that moment, they really were. There wasn't another person, or building for that matter, as far as she could see.

"OK, Chandler, where are we?"

"Middle of nowhere."

"Yes, I see that," she said, sitting up in her seat. "Why?"

He shrugged.

"I thought you might like to see the sunset," he said.

For the first time she looked out the windshield of the car. Right in front of her was the biggest sky she'd ever seen - light blue with just touches of pink, red, purple and orange hues beginning to form as the sun started to go down.

Chandler popped the trunk and got out of the car, he grabbed two heavy blankets from the back and then went to open her door.

"Blankets at the ready?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she exited the car.

He threw one over the hood.

"I've been told it would be a good idea in the winter to keep a couple in the car just in case," he explained. "It can get cold if you break down - and it could take forever for a tow truck to get out here."

"You're making me feel really good about this…"

"Hush, woman, I'm trying to be romantic!"

They grinned at each other as he handed her the other blanket and then threw his suit jacket and tie in the trunk, grabbing his winter coat out of it.

The wind had picked up just a bit and there was a nip in the air.

"When's the last time we snuggled up on the hood of a car?" he asked as he doubled the blanket over on the windshield.

"Um…never?"

"Well, there's a first time for everything," he said as he scooped her up, blanket and all, and deposited her on the hood.

She gasped, "Chandler!"

"I'm coming," he smirked as he made the first of three attempts to jump on the hood himself without sliding off.

He finally made it on the third try, with Monica pulling his hand.

"Maybe we're too old for this," he panted.

She giggled as he leaned back against the windshield, bent one knee up to have a foothold on the hood, keeping his other leg down.

Monica eased her body between his legs and leaned her back against his chest, bracing herself against his bent leg and unfurled the blanket.

He tucked it around them then wrapped his arms around her waist and held her to him as the wind picked up again.

She shivered.

"Sorry," he whispered. "This seemed like a great idea in my head."

"It's OK," she said, as tears started to form in her eyes from the cold wind hitting them. Her face was cold but the rest of her was toasty warm. The hood was holding the car's heat from the drive out and the blanket was plenty thick enough.

Her most precious heat source opened up his winter coat and she snuggled inside.

She looked out over the land again - just half of the sun was hanging over the horizon line now.

"Chandler… this is gorgeous," she breathed. "How did you find this place?"

He chuckled.

"Well, about anywhere an hour outside of Tulsa is 'this place,'" he said, looking at the sparse surroundings.

"One of the first weekends I got stuck working here," he continued quietly, "I was ranting about having nothing to do. One of the guys at the office told me I could go watch the sunset. I thought he was kidding. He told me it was like seeing the gates of heaven open or some such crap, but since I had nothing else to do…"

She felt him shrug.

"So you drove out here all by yourself?" she asked softly, gently squeezing the arms that were holding her.

"Yep," he said as he looked at the sky. It was almost time.

She shook her head against his chest.

"God, I really should be out here with you…" she started.

"No, Mon…"

"Yes, yes, I should, Chandler. You shouldn't be…"

"Monica…"

"…alone and I should…"

"Monica," he said a little louder. "Look at me, please."

She stopped speaking and looked up at him. He looked into her eyes for a long moment before returning his focus to the sky.

"That's what I thought," he said, a smile playing on his lips. "Just about perfect."

"What?" she asked softly, her eyes never leaving his face.

"The blue in the sky, right now, matches the blue in your eyes perfectly," he said, with a hint of awe in his voice. "I always wondered, since that first sunset, if it did. It does."

Her breath caught as she turned to face the plains once again. The sun was down - purples, pinks and a majestic, cobalt blue now painted the grand, natural canvas in front of them.

"When I can see your eyes in the sky," he whispered into her hair, "you are with me."

Monica closed her eyes, knowing the tears running down her face now had nothing to do with the cold wind.

She took a deep, shaky breath as she tilted her head back to look at him. He was smiling down at her.

"Do you have any, _any_ idea how very much I love you?" she said, her voice thin, shaking and full of emotion.

"I might have some idea, yeah," he whispered as his lopsided grin came over his face.

She reached one hand up and laced her fingers through the back of his short hair, pulling him to her.

They kissed long and slow and deep as the last of the cobalt blue made way for the twilight ushering in the cold night.

When their kiss broke, he wiped the tears from her cheeks as she whispered his name, then wrapped himself around her tight as she burrowed into his chest.

She felt so relaxed, so warm and so loved that soon she fell asleep in his arms.

For a little while Chandler just sat there and held his wife, until it was so dark that hundreds of stars above made their presence known.

Maybe, just maybe, he thought as he kissed the top of her hair, this was heaven after all.

_**NOTE: So the kernels of this story were planted by a couple songs (big shock there, I know!). Have to thank the second verse of Jason Aldean's "Fly Over States" for inspiring the imagery in this scene, and since I live in a fly over state I completely appreciate it :) And in case it isn't painfully obvious, I am a complete sap for Romantic Chandler, and sunsets…**_


	4. Reminder

Monica slowly slid her fingers down his jawline, feeling the stubble there as she looked at his closed eyes. She'd always loved how they sloped down on the sides when they were closed.

She leaned in and kissed them. Then grinned as he stirred just a little.

She knew Chandler liked to watch her sleep, but Monica didn't know if he realized she did the same thing every chance she got.

Sometimes she just couldn't believe this remarkable man who loved her to the moon and back, who saw her eyes in the Oklahoma sky, was hers.

She'd been a little groggy, she'd been sleeping so soundly, as they drove back to his hotel after the magical sunset the night before.

Monica smiled as she remembered how quickly she woke up as soon as they made their way to his hotel room.

They hadn't even gotten their coats off before they'd landed on the bed, lips locked and hearts racing.

It seemed to take forever to take off the layers but once they had they'd made love with a fervor they hadn't in a long time.

Ovulation kits, making babies and even the Queen's plates never once crossed either of their minds as they came together again and again.

They were just two people deeply in love who were missing the connection of mind, body and soul that had been interrupted for so long.

After her restless Friday night Monica knew she had to wake up with him again as soon as possible.

And on this short visit to Tulsa she'd gotten her wish two times - once on the hood of a Ford and again just now.

Her fingers reached his lips and, to her surprise, he kissed them.

"Good morning, Beautiful," he murmured.

"It is a _very_ good morning," she said softly as they smiled at each other.

"How'd you sleep?" she asked.

"Like a log," he said, stretching out a little. "You?"

"Better than I have in weeks," she said, running her hand along his bare chest. "So soundly…"

"I'm so glad you're here, Mon," he said quietly, running his hand down her arm that was over his chest.

The smile never left her face as she moved on top of him, feeling him against her, and her smile only grew wider.

"Ah…it's a very good morning indeed," she whispered.

He smirked and pushed her long hair away from her face as she leaned down to kiss him.

Lost in his kiss she almost didn't notice when he placed his hands on her hips and guided her onto him.

They both moaned at the contact as their kiss deepened, and they rocked back and forth as mind, body and soul became one once again.

###

"This is what it's like, isn't it?" he said, a hitch in his voice, as he sat on the bed and watched her repack the suitcase she'd just unpacked hours earlier.

She zipped up her bag and walked over to him. They'd just taken a shower together and gotten dressed, both very aware of the time. Her flight left at 11 a.m. Tulsa time. He was due back at the office at noon.

His sad eyes looked up at her as she cupped his cheek, not saying anything.

"When I leave this is how you feel."

She nodded, not sure she could speak without her voice cracking.

"Well, it sucks," he said, standing and pulling her to him. "It sucks a lot…"

"Yes, it does," she whispered, gripping the back of his blue sweater and blinking back tears.

He took a deep breath. The last 18 hours had been like an incredible dream and he didn't want to wake up.

And it broke his heart that, every week, he broke hers when he left.

"I am so sorry, Monica," he said, lifting her chin and looking into her watery eyes. "I so screwed up - how the hell I ever let us get into this mess…I could kick myself…"

"Stop," she said, quickly kissing him. "No more 'I'm sorrys,' OK?"

"But…" Chandler started.

"No," she said as she lifted her hands and ran them through his hair. "Enough. We're in this together. You're here and I'm there, but we're together. We're together where it counts, Chandler. The rest is just noise."

His emotions got the best of him as he ran his hands down from her arms to her hips - he let out a heavy sigh, tears pooling as he closed his eyes.

"This has been so hard," he whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. "I feel like I am letting you down every damn day…"

"No," she quickly said again as she pulled away to look him in the eye. "I never want you to feel that way, Chandler, never. I'm sorry if I…if I…"

"Hey," he said softly, wiping a tear from her cheek. "No more 'I'm sorrys,' right?"

Monica smiled through her tears as she choked out "right."

Then she cleared her throat.

"We're going to be OK, you and me, you know that," she said, her voice taking on a confident tone. He nodded. "We don't have a choice, you know. I can…I can live with you being gone a few days a week. I can live with it taking a little longer for us to have a baby. I can even live without the Queen's plates. But what I cannot do, Chandler…I…I can't live without you and your love to get me through each day. I just can't. I can't do that Chandler and I…I don't want any more tension between us and I don't…"

She'd started chattering fast, like a monkey, and he knew she meant ever word.

He silenced her with a kiss.

"You won't," he said quietly as he pulled away and she looked up, searching his face. "One thing you'll never, ever lose is my love and devotion to you, Monica. I…I can't promise I won't ever screw up again, but I can a thousand percent promise you that - no matter what happens in the future."

She smiled at her husband, looking into his shining, bright blue eyes.

"Last night was amazing," she whispered. "Thank you."

"Thanks for surprising me," he said, smiling. "And no shark porn or anything this time."

She burst out laughing.

"I know!" she said, still giggling. "Yes, it was much better this time."

"Much," he agreed, glancing at the clock.

"It's time," she nodded.

"Yeah..."

He turned and picked up her suitcase and his keys and they made their way out of the hotel room hand-in-hand.

###

Monica pulled on her chef's smock and smiled as she looked at the postcard of the Oklahoma sunset held up by a magnet inside her work locker.

She ran her fingers over the blue sky in the photo…

_The airport security line was short, but they were still pushing it on time by Monica standards as she waited a little impatiently for Chandler to get back with their coffees._

_She'd printed out her return ticket and was waiting on a small metal bench as he came into view, with two coffees and a flat, brown paper bag._

_"Thanks," she said as he handed her the coffee and the bag. "What's this?"_

_"Just a little something," he said as he shrugged. She started to open the bag and he put his hand over hers._

_"Just save it for the plane," he whined, with a smile. "Try to wait until you're _at least _taxing down the runway, please."_

_"Ugh," she said, with a little grin. "I'll try, but I can't make any promises."_

_"I know," he chuckled, pulling her to him once again. "I love you Monica Geller Bing."_

_"I love you Chandler Muriel Bing," she said, giggling when he winced at 'Muriel.' "That's for making me wait."_

_"Erghhh," he said. "Don't rush too much to make the restaurant tonight, OK? No one will starve without you."_

_"I know, but I should be OK," she said, glancing at the security line. "I gotta go."_

_"Oh, how well I know," he said, a sad smile coming to his lips. "Wish I could go back to the gate with you."_

_"Me, too," she said as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. "I love you. I'll call when I land and when I get home."_

_"Good…I love you, too."_

_She grabbed her rolling carry-on and got in line for security. He watched her through the line and all the way until she smiled and waved at him before turning down the terminal corridor._

_He tipped his coffee to her and smiled back._

_Then he turned and walked back toward the airport parking lot, already missing her but remarkably still smiling._

_She'd taken her seat on the flight and buckled in, still holding tightly onto the small brown paper bag. She knew she'd never make it until the plane was taxing down the runway._

_She opened it and smiled at the picture on the front of the postcard then she turned it over and her eyes filled with tears._

_"Oh, Baby…" she whispered, putting her hand over her mouth, shaking her head and looking out the window back toward the airport._

_Monica put the postcard back in the bag and held it close to her heart._

_She was wiping the tears from her eyes as the plane taxied down the runway and started its ascent, heading east into the bright Oklahoma sky._

She pulled down the memento one more time and read the words he'd written on the back.

She'd read them so many times she'd lost count. She knew she'd hold them in her heart forever.

"Heaven's doors opened on a Saturday night in Tulsa. I'll love you into eternity, Mon. Yours always, Chandler."

She sighed again - once again fighting off tears.

Monica looked at the sunset another moment before hanging the postcard back up in her locker.

And she smiled, knowing that no matter what, she and Chandler were going to make it through this time in their lives. They would come out stronger than ever on the other side.

She turned toward the kitchen at JaVu and took a deep breath. She let it out slowly and started to walk toward her waiting staff.

Her eyes were bright and she felt like she was floating on clouds - their love sustaining her.

And a thousand miles away, as Chandler glanced at his employees working so diligently on the year-end numbers, he smiled too - feeling exactly the same way.

All they needed was a little reminder.

**The End.**

_**NOTE: Short but sweet, I hope. ;) I always thought Mumford & Sons "Reminder" was a perfect Tulsa-era Mondler song and it helped inspire this little story. Now, coincidently, I'm preparing for a big trip to the American west with the fam in real life. Hope to see a similar sunset! :) **_

_**A "thank you" as big as the Oklahoma sky to all of you for your reviews, and a special "thank you' to the Guest from Tulsa who left a review - you absolutely made my day - you're welcome and thank you! :)**_


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